>> brian: tomorrow, bob massi, michelle malkin and general michael hayden who ran the ray, weigh not guilty after the testimony. >> gretchen: predebate coverage for the vp. that will be a big day. see you tomorrow. bill: this will be a big day today. a stunning development on response to terror attack in libya. lawmakers getting ready to grill security officials what happened that night in benghazi september 11th. the state department is now saying it always knew the assault that killed four americans was preplanned and was not the result of a spontaneous protest over a film. we have a big show this morning. i'm bill hemmer. >> good morning, everybody. i'm martha maccallum. that revelation puts the state department in direct contradiction what the white house said in the days after the attack when senior administration officials including u.s. ambassador to the u.n., did interview after interview connecting

the attack to anger over a movie. bill: want to start with peter doocy live in washington. the why is the state department now saying the attack not spontaneous? >> reporter: because lethality and number of armed attackers is unprecedented in recent diplomatic history. plus there was no protest in front of consulate on the night of the attack. the people inside the compound heard explosions before 9:00 p.m.

>> we have no information to suggest that it was a plea planned attack. -- preplanned attack. it is not reaction to the 9/11 anniversary that we know of. >> in fact this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack. >> reporter: we know the administration did internally classify as a terrorist attack within 24 hours. we expect to hear a lot more three hours from now in a house oversight committee hearing just across the street that is being billed simply as the security failures of benghazi. bill. bill: i'm looking at four witnesses. any heads up what they will say, peter? >> we heard a little bit from two of the witnesses, one of them eric nordstrom, the regional security officer for libya in the state department already told congressional investigators about 230 security incidents from last june to this july. these incidents paint a clear picture that the environment in libya was fragile at best and could degrade quickly. certainly not a environment

where posts should be directed to normalized operations and reduced security resources in accordance with an artificial timetable. at today's noon hearing on the hill we'll hear from lieutenant colonel andrew wood, the green beret from the utah army national garth who was in charge of a security team in benghazi that left libya a few weeks before the attack. he told cbs as soon as he arrived in february there was pressure from the state department to shrink the security force. bill: it is unfolding as we speak here. peter, thank you. on that leading our coverage in washington. martha. martha: there is much more on this stunning development. did the white house cover up the attack in benghazi for political reasons? that is the question, really. that's what it boils down to. we will ask that to house oversight committee chairman, darrell issa. he will join us in a little while. he will lead the congressional inquiry that gets underway this afternoon. tennessee senator bob corker. he is on the senate foreign

relations committee. he will give us his take on the going disconnect. what was really going on between the white house and the state department in the 24 to 48 hours after that attack. let's get you back to the battleground states and back to election 2012. we go to ohio as governor romney looks to build momentum in that state that could make-or-break his white house bid. there was a huge 10% divide in ohio not long ago. it has tightened. with know republican ever has won the presidency without carrying ohio. last night estimated 12,000 supporters, crowded an ohio parking lot to hear governor romney speak. >> i've been watching some of the, president obama's rallies and they chant four more years, four more years and today there are 28 days before the election. i think the right chant ought to be for them, four more weeks, four more weeks. all right? [cheers and applause]

and with an audience like this -- >> four more weeks. four more weeks. four more weeks. four more weeks. four more weeks. >> you got the idea. you got the idea. martha: john roberts is traveling with the romney campaign. he is in mount vernon, ohio, this morning. john, how are things looking? a lot of big changes in the numbers we're seeing in ohio? >> reporter: certainly a big change this weather too. all the beautiful summer days are gone. we've got cold and rain. the battle for ohio is on, martha. the "real clear politics" average has the race within a point and governor romney certainly has a lot of momentum coming out of the debate. he will be visiting four cities in total on this campaign swing. he will probably be back later on in the week as well. on the stump with governor chris christie of new jersey who so boldly predicted a couple sundays ago that after the debate the race would be turned on his head. in cuyahoga falls, christie

had a message for president obama. >> i'm sure he is out there listening. mr. president you have lived inside 1600 pennsylvania avenue for four years. if you can't change washington from inside the white house, then let's get you plane ticket back to chicago you've earned. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: difficult to overstate how important the buckeye state is for governor romney. he has a very narrow path to 270 electoral votes, martha. it is difficult how he does it without winning ohio and all its electoral votes. martha: it is, john. for another day big bird remains a big issue still coming from the lips of president obama, mrs. obama, also mentioned big bird in the last 24 hours. what is the latest with this? >> reporter: really is quite remarkable how big an issue has become. it was a throw-away line in last wednesday's debate. president obama made a central focus of the campaign. "wall street journal" out with an editorial out, big

bird, small president. pointing out that "sesame street" has assets of $289 million. and is heavily invested in hedge and private equity funds. why does it need a subsidy? on the campaign trail governor romney suggesting he is a little surprised that president obama couldn't find something more important to talk about. >> time like this for the president to get up and say, as he has over these last several days, that he's focused on saving big bird is kind of a strange thing in my view because see i'm focused on helping the american people get good jobs and brighter prospects. [applause] >> reporter: today's event, a town hall meeting at aerial corporation, makes natural gas come pros source. this was started in a fellow's basement with investment of 10,000. now employs 1200 people. it is real example of romney campaign would point out as we built it story. martha: thank you, john. see you later.

these romney crowds are energized an been enthusiastic according to the reports in ohio on the ground that is a perhaps a the presidential nominee and supporters are sensing momentum may be moving in their direction. ohio senator robb portman put it this way. >> we'll make this election about big things, not distortions, not negative ads it will be about the proposeals that mitt romney and paul ryan have to put people back to work in northeast ohio and get at the deficit and debt in this country. [cheers and applause] it's going to be about his pro-growth proposals to restore the american dream. martha: you can hear it. that is the push in ohio this week from the romney campaign, spending four out of five days in the buckeye state this week. bill: want to check out the billboard and zero in on the state of ohio. you heard so much about this. there is a very good reason why ohio is such a battleground. on our map section what

we've done and will do for the next four weeks, we zeroed in own the battleground states based on polling. the 11 states you see outlined in yellow are considered too close to call. in the middle of all of this is the state of ohio here. put what if scenario into action here. if you put the surveys we've taken right here the president appears to have 201 electoral votes and mitt romney at 191. you need 270 to win the white house. so why ohio? if we were to click on mitt romney here and give him 18 electoral votes in the buckeye state you see where his number jumps to 209. you wonder what is the strategy behind both of these men. look at results from 2008 now with senator mccain and senator obama. it ohio it went democratic, went blue, a huge victory for the president then. but just yesterday he went back right here to the heart of the state, that is franklin county, capital city, columbus. he was at ohio state university driving up younger vote there where he

found so many votes just four years ago. now you see why he is going back yet again. if you then look at governor romney's strategy today, he is not going to columbus but going just north of it in delaware county. huge growth in this county. an offshoot of columbus and overhere in knox county where we saw john roberts. if you start to see the strategy now as for why ohio is so critical and the number of times, for governor romney, he is spending three of the next four-days in ohio alone, and you see in that what if scenario how critical that could be in the end four weeks away. martha, back to you. martha: thanks, bill. focus shifts to the vice-president deng debate which happens tomorrow night. earlier i sat down once again with ann romney. here is what she had to say about her husband's running mate, paul ryan. >> i'm excited again for the american people to see him. they don't know him. he is such a great guy. he is so genuine. he is so ernest. he is so well-spoken.

he so intelligent. knows his facts. it will be great for people to really get a chance to get to know him. martha: mrs. romney also had some choice words for the obama campaign and its accusation that governor romney had lied during the debate. we're going to show you what she said about that. that is coming up. we'll play the full interview in next hour of "america's newsroom". bill: looking forward to that, really. 10:15 live. new polling from the battleground state of nevada it shows a virtual tie. president up only a point 47-46% according to a survey of the "usa today poll" commissioned by las vegas review journal. four years ago president obama easily won the state by 12 percentage points. today nevada has highest unemployment rate in the nation that could support governor romney's point that there needs to be a change in nevada. there is stunning new poll out from new hampshire. martha: some very interesting numbers emerging now.

we're getting started this morning. we've got much more on the big story of today. the stunning news out of the state department, that goes directly against this statement that was given just days after the attack in benghazi. >> the best information, and the best assessment we have today, is that in fact, this was not a preplanned, premeditated attack. that what happened initially was that it was a spontaneous reaction to what had just transpired in cairo. martha: those words not going away for susan rice and the state department. now saying that it always knew that the assault wasn't the result of a protest. so was there a cover-up hear is the big question. senator bob corker is up next. bill: he just got back from libya too. could the airbag in your car be a fake? there is a new report out that every driver in america needs to hear. martha: could the obama campaign's liar, liar, strategy thats has been talked about this week come back to haunt them? we'll have a fair and balanced debate on that

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bill: want to move back now to our top story. lawmakers set to grill state department officials exactly what happened in the terror attack in libya. this is the state department now says late last night it always knew the attack was preplanned despite senior obama administration officials in the days after that attack pointing the blame at anti-muslim film. senator bob corker is on the foreign relations committee. he is back from libya. this is the first television interview returning to the

region. senator, welcome home and good morning to you. >> bill, good morning to you. good to be back. bill: thank you. based on what you have learned, was this a cover-up? >> well, look, i can just tell you that in realtime, at the very highest levels of our government they knew this was a terrorist attack as it was happening and certainly within 24 hours. knew most every detail about what had happened. that's why i said from the very beginning this has been totally bizarre as far as how they responded. as far as culpability regarding the operations on the ground i know there is a hearing today. there will be a lot of discussions but the fact is when we have these expedition shun airy role when we have people in countries basically controlled by militias i think there are a lot of policy issues that have to be answered and i'm sure the hearing today will be helpful in that regard. to me --. bill: we're looking forward to getting some headlines

here. let me back up just a moment. you just said in the early hours of this attack on september 11 that the administration knew everything? what did they know? >> there is no question, and i think today, i mean there's been ref vailings -- revelations through ap and other place, the state department is saying this, from the very beginning everyone knew this was a terrorist attack, there is no question. that is why this has been totally bizarre. to me, bill, what this has been about, i've been at a loss as to why all of this would have been portrayed that it is and to me what i think it is about and we'll see soon, i think this speaks to the character of this administration. i think they know that the president is very vulnerable with his mission accomplished, spiking the football regarding usama bin laden. the fact is that extremism and violent groups and al qaeda is very much on the run right now, they're alive and backfilling in afghanistan as we move out.

the arab spring has create ad whole new opening for these extremist violent groups to really come against democratic values. and you think what they know is, this is very, creates a vulnerability for the president and what i hate about it is, in all of this there have been americans who have been heroic. i met two gentlemen, i won't give the details, i promise you almost every american would be emotionally overwhelmed to see what these people did in rescuing other americans. and to me what the white house has done in order to save their own political skin and faux image on a this issue, they have dishonored many people around this world, the many people that sacrificed their lives and in this case, the people in benghazi that risked their lives to really protect those people who were out there trying to push forward our national interests. and so i think that's what this, --. bill: these are heavy charges. now are you suggesting that based on what you have

learned that secretary clinton, that president obama, that they have been lying through all this? >> well, i don't use those kinds of words. i just know that, i know that you know, people have known from the very beginning that these were terrorist acts and you know, i mean, we knew it. look at the heavy caliber of fire that was taking place. the distance from which it was occurring. i mean this was a very sophisticated attack. and i'll leave it to hearings, i know there are investigations but there is no question that, at the highest levels of our government, this was known in the very beginning and i don't know --. bill: but the explanation you're offering us now is that this was all about an election. you stand by that? >> i don't think there is any question. i mean i look at the susan rice. five days later there is no question, no question, beyond a shadow of a doubt

that, that it was known differently that this was not about any film. and i think she candidly, my theory and i don't know, we'll find out, somebody will write a book about this i guess at some point, but i think she was thrown under the bus. you know, she's, so, you know, we'll see what happens. let's get back the fact is that this was a terrorist at act. i think most of us knew and thought it was a terrorist act from the very beginning. now there are details coming out from the state department that are saying that. and, again, to me this is all about a presidential election and it's all about a white house. this is my opinion now. okay? i don't, a white house that is trying to protect this faux image that we have in fact crushed these extremist groups around the world. the fact is they're mutating. the world is very dangerous place. we have many outstanding americans that are trying to pursue our national interests

in very dangerous applauses. and hopefully, we'll adapt to that and posture ourselves that way in the future sew that the likelihood of this happening again is remote. bill: bob corker, thank you for your time. back after this. are you receiving a payout from a legal settlement or annuity over 10 or even 20 years? call imperial structured settlements. the experts at imperial can convert your long-term payout into a lump sum of cash today.

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♪ . bill: just when it is getting cold in the east. surf is up. it is way up in hawaii. earlier than expected winter season in paradise triggering waves, 30 feet high and dangerous riptides. stay out of that surf. that's the warning. you know what surfers do, they ignore that device. two surfers treated at a hospital for their injuries so serious. take it that way. martha: back to washington now. the supreme court is expected to hear a potential

landmark case on affirmative action this morning. a white student brought this lawsuit against the university of texas back in 2008. she claimed that she didn't get in despite good grades and that her spot went to a less qualified student who was a minority. that is her case. shannon bream joins us now outside the supreme court. how is the university defending their policy, shannon? >> reporter: well, martha, first of all the university says it is in compliance with the current law as it stands under the supreme court rulings that are now in place, that are good precedent. they say the policy they put together respects that, reflects that. also they want to make sure they have a student body that is diverse, or reflects exactly what is going on in texas, the makeup of the demographic there. supporters with the chief council of constitutional accountability center explained it this way. >> what the university of texas is doing here is looking already highly qualified pool of students and then when deciding which students to admit they're looking beyond test scores to many of the things that you mentioned but also, as

one of those factors, just one, taking race and ethnicity into account. >> reporter: there are dozens of universities all across the united states who have joined here with the university of texas to support that position, martha. martha: so what's the argument against that, shannon. >> reporter: it is interesting to note before the university of texas instituted a policy includes considering race, what they were doing is pretty much taking top 10% academically of all high school graduates within the state of texas. that brought them a pretty good mix. but they said we want to take it a step further. once the supreme court gave them a green light in an older case they would add race into the mix. now the plaintiff in this case, abigail fisher, a white female said that worked to her disadvantage. attorney david gibbs says that leaves the court with one big question today. >> the big question on affirmative action where the color of your skin you're giving advantage to someone not given to someone else, is it needed anymore? is it fair or should we

really go to more of a merit-based system where every student, regardless of the color of their skin is treated by the state fairly. >> reporter: that is what eight justices will decide today. justice kagan recused herself because as work as solicitor general in the case as it was bubbling up through the court system. unless throws them another curveball, with conservatives they should be happy about his position. he authored famous line years ago the way to stop discrimination on basis of race is to stop discriminating on basis of race. real swing vote will be justice anthony kennedy. all eyes on him in this particular case. martha: this could have long implications. very fascinating case, shannon. thank you so much. bill: not too long ago kennedy was considered the decider. how things change. a deadly outbreak now. spreading. a desperate race to find thousands of americans that might be at risk for fungal meningitis. serious stuff.

martha: the obama campaign came out and said point-blank they believe mitt romney lied during the last debate. so are the facts there to back that up? will this strategy backfire for them. tell me what you think about this. send me a tweet @marthamaccallum. more after the break.

martha: well the obama campaign is already come out and called governor romney essentially a liar. but now the president himself is expected to carry

that theme into the next debate. big question now, will that strategy backfire or will it work for them? here are some thoughts on that from senator john mccain. >> this is a new low. this is a really a new low. response to a legitimate candidate's views on the issues is just to call that candidate a liar? what is that all about? it's, it means that they're out of ideas, altitude and airspeed. martha: tucker carlson, editor of "the daily caller" and fox news contributor. alan colmes is the host of the alan colmes radio show. the author of the new book, thank the liberals for saving america. thank you both for being here today. alan, let me start with you. does that reflect a campaign out of its own ideas? >> let me back up for a second. do we forget that romney called obama a liar? mitt romney before the dedate said he will have to tell so many lies i have to straighten stiff out the debate. referred to obama during the

debating suggested obama wasn't telling the truth. this is not a one-way street. let's not act as if one campaign is doing it. word liar was not actually used. no way problem any can make the math add up if he was going to be revenue neutral. in one sentence he said he would not lower taxes on the upper income americans and rather not raise taxes on upper income americans but he would lower the tax rate from 35, 40 to 35% or to 25%. how can both be true? you can't say i'm lowering tax without lowering tax. >> you're raising revenue by eliminating loopholes. >> he didn't say what loopholes he would cut. unless he is going to do that you don't have the math to do it. martha: see he said would take it to congress to decide how loopholes. >> he has not been specific at all. martha: okay. tucker what do you think about this strategy because clearly we're hearing it from everybody from robert gibbs on down the line. >> right. martha: that they are saying

a different mitt romney showed up the other night. the president has joked about it. bill clinton been joking in las vegas. welcome back, mitt romney. who is this guy? this is clearly where they're going to go here. will it work? >> if you look at poll numbers i don't think the obama people are actually laughing about it. say that. all campaigns accuse one another of dishonesty, bending the truth that is pre conventional. what is different here, as you suggested this is strategy. this is the core obama argument against romney. that he is a liar. he is a bad person. that he is morally unfit to be president. at its core it is a personal attack. i'm not whining about that. i'm merely noting that it is not a very effective strategy. it winds the base up. gets people already going to vote for you pretty darn excited. they want to hear their leader weigh into the other guy. it doesn't convince anyone who is undecided. in the end it is not a argument. it a growl, a primal scream. is barking right. it doesn't lead you to anywhere. >> romney done that to

obama. why are we only talking about one side? romney basically called obama on a liar. when he calls on the continuing fb bringcations he is how he is hurt. he flip-flopped on abortion yesterday. what does he stand for? martha: but here he is, to my mind, this is a great, wonderful thing about debates. and particularly in many ways i think the format we saw the other night which was, somewhat unusual format which really allowed them to talk about who they were. what you were seeing up there in many ways, was not the campaigns. i mean you saw the two men. and they had a chance to go at it. >> that's the point. martha: they had a chance to encounter each other when called on it. so it is difficult to say anyway anybody was portrayed in a way that was unfair. >> obama didn't call him a liar during the debate. a lot of people wish he did. he didn't go after romney on some of the prevarications. martha: do you think it would be a good idea. >> i wouldn't use word liar.

his feet have to be held to the fire. if you want to make numbers work, what loopholes will be cut or how but i will do it without taxing income of middle americans and closing loopholes no longer allowing for deductions? how will you make the numbers work. he has to answer that question. >> but look --. martha: are we seeing a different version of mitt romney in your mind? >> i think romney, it is well-documented that romney's position on a number of issues have evolved. this is contest, they have changed. but this is not, my job is not to defend romney. this is to tell the truth. hear is the truth. this is not a contest between pierce. this is contest between a guy run the country four years and a guy wants to take his place. to a large extent this is referendum on the obama agenda. to the extent obama is unable to defend his own program last four years, tell me exactly why this has worked? he is not even willing to attempt that. it is a shallow strategy. martha: let me ask you this. let's, we're really trying

to just talk strategy here. so, alan, let me ask you this because clearly what we heard from robert gibbs and others this will be central to the strategy as we go into the next debate. do you think it is wise? do you say go for it? >> i think it is wise to say, here is what you said on object 22nd of this year or whatever date you want to choose and here is what you said last february. here is what you said on this date. here is what you said on that date. which is the real mitt romney? will the real mitt romney please stand up. that is what i think they need to do. >> yeah they have been doing that and it's not working. >> i disagree. martha: there we have it. that's why we call it a debate. thank you very much, alan. good to see you. bill: good luck on the book, alan. >> thank you very much have. bill: ann romney has choice words for president obama and his reaction to the debate. why the governor's wife says the obama team is acting like a bunch of children? that is all in martha's interview you will see next

hour. martha: governor taking a lead in all important battleground states. one pollster is not even bothering with florida. romney may have that in the bag? we'll find out what that's all about. ed rollins comes up on that. >> let's commit ourselves to everyday american people, "joe six-pack", hockey moms across the nation. we need to band together. >> talk about the maverick john mccain. i love him. he has been a maverick on some issues. he is not a maverick on things that matter to people's lives.

martha: this is big news this morning. the u.s. military is now setting up camp in jordan to help with humanitarian crisis that is spilling in from syria. the task force says it is concerned with helping the country deal with the nearly 18,000 refugees who have come across that border. the obama administration declined to offer military support to rebels in syria fighting government forces

there. so far more than 30,000 people, 30,000 people have been killed in that uprising since march in syria. bill: for the first time in nearly a month mitt romney now leading president obama in scott rasmussen's swing state survey, 49-47%. that poll tracks 11 key battleground states that the president won four years ago but now they're considered too close to call. ed rollins, fox news contributor, served as national direct for president ronald reagan's re-election team in 1984. he worked on numerous other campaigns. good to have you back. >> good morning. how are you, sir? bill: i'm fine, thank you. i want to get to specifics in a moment. generally speaking what are you seeing out there? >> momentum clearly gone toward romney. momentum is important in the closing days of the campaign. he has it. the that debate made him an acceptable alternative to the president. the president has done nothing basically in the last week to get himself back in the game. romney's enthusiastic, his

people are enthusiastic. we always knew it would be a close race. right now people are very, very enthused about romney's opportunities. bill: you say that voters are judging him as a serious alternative. what happened in politics when you can make a statement like that? >> first of all an incumbent is always very difficult to beat. people hired him to do a job. obviously this president has not done the job. before you fire him, in essence what the voters have to do in november, you have to find someone else you want to replace him with. this is similar to ronald reagan in 1980. jimmy carter went out and tagged him as reckless all the rest of it. once people saw reagan in the debate all of sudden the tide turned and he won a dramatic landslide. this could happen this time. i'm not predicting landslide but predicting a a victory. bill: two days ago i watched upstairs watching a monitor, you pointed to it and said he is already a different person. what do you see in mitt romney? >> i think obviously when

you've been down and beat up and you have a little disarray in your campaign and your family is worried how it is being run a big vick gets you in a different mindset. he senses the crowd. he fees it. he feels he can win. i think that is always reencouraging to a candidate. bill: gives him more confidence. >> absolutely. bill: ill will get to tomorrow night's debate in a moment here. look what is happening in new hampshire. what was it a week ago? mitt romney was down 15 points. according to the latest poll. look to the far right of your screen. blue is obama, red is romney. look how close these two men have moved now, now six points apart. you look at this poll came out yesterday from michigan, there is just a three-point spread there. florida is too close to call. ohio said to be a toss-up. all this stuff is moving so fast. >> those are winnable states. new hampshire has a history of flipping in the end. it's a competitive state. obviously romney has deep relationships there having had a summer home there for a long time.

governing in the neighboring state. obviously he needs, as i said on this show before, florida, ohio, you don't win the two you're not not game. virginia, north carolina, new hampshire, puts over the top at 270. bill: there was a pollster last night on "o'reilly factor", suffolk, university, said he is not polling anymore in florida, north carolina and virginia. he said romney has those states in the bag. do you agree with that. >> i wouldn't take anything for granted when you have less than four weeks to go. you have to get vote out there to make sure they vote. campaigns certainly haven't stopped polling in those states. if he doesn't want to do it that's fine. we don't get victory until after election day. bill: president has zero campaign events. in two hours hearings begin about libya. he is meeting with hillary clinton at 2:00 in afternoon. how big after distraction could this be. >> this is really his on the job performance. not about "sesame street" or

rest of the things that are side bars and not relevant. what is relevant how he conducted foreign policy where an american ambassador was killed and other americans who were there in our consulate. you better have the right story. they put a spin story out turning out not to be true. that is a big, big factor. if you didn't do what you could to defend one of our ambassadors who asked for help, like a kid drowning in a pool asked for the lifeguard to come in. if you don't go in and help them you bear responsibility. bill: move to one more topic. thanks for playing along with us. there is lot to cover here. that is the debate everybody would be talking about this time tomorrow. how do joe biden and paul ryan stack up against each other? >> i think ryan is very young, energetic and extremely smart. he knows the government better than anybody in spite of the fact that biden has been in government for a long, long time. as far as facts figures, numbers, the budget, those kinds of things, nobody is an equal of ryan. so i expect if they want to get into debate on facts and figures he will do extremely

well. he is young, he is dynamic. he is personable. bill: you're selling him very strong. do you want to go there? joe biden was in the senate at age 29. no newcomer. >> all i can tell now disrespect to mrs. palin and held her own and may have won the debates four years ago and certainly didn't have the substance or knowledge he has today. bill: joe biden has been holed up for six straight days. you know how it is when you study for an exam. lock yourself in the room three days, go into the exam room and ace it, right? >> sometimes you have too much in your he had had. in the case of biden, whether his mouth get ahead of his head which is key factor. he has tendency to make blunders. my sense he may overcompensate for the president's poor performance. that may not be a good prays to be. bill: looking forward to get your reaction on friday morning. ed rollins in new york. martha: we want to take to you capitol hill where these hearings are about to get underway and perhaps the most effective person and representative in those hearings today will be

lieutenant colonel andrew wood. he spent six months on the site security team. he was the commander overseeing our security of our embassies in libya. he has a tremendous amount of experience doing security. he used to go running and exercising with woman ambassador chris stevens as part of his detail and overseas security there. he has tremendous amount of knowledge about the concerns that he says existed for some time and concerns he has about the amount of security that was being sent there by the state department. here's a little bit what he is expected to say. this is a quote from an early transcript. we'll hear from him personally coming up. i made a personal decision to come forward with information and do not represent dod or any government agency. he had unique access and placement to many government leaders and agencies working in libya. fighting between militias was still common when i departed. in june the ambassador received a threat on facebook with a public announcement that he would like to run around the embassy compound in tripoli.

he goes on to talk about, how he was protected or the lack of protectionhe sees as a r that was made there. so we'll hear from him in a little while. that is just an inkling what we expect to hear from lieutenant colonel wood. bill: just getting word another meningitis death reported in the state of florida. the feds making a major announcement about the airbag that could be in your car potentially affecting hundreds of thousands of vehicles. what you need to know to stay safe on the road jack, you're a little boring. boring. boring. [ jack ] after lauren broke up with me, i went to the citi private pass page and decided to be...not boring. that's how i met marilyn... giada... really good. yes! [ jack ] ...and alicia. ♪ this girl is on fire [ male announcer ] use any citi card to get the benefits of private pass. more concerts, more events, more experiences. [ jack ] hey, who's boring now?

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swithout shriners hospitals,he things i'm able to do. my life would be completely different. when i was seven, we found out i had scoliosis. everything changed when they stepped in. it was like they gave me my future back. tori's life is one of nearly a million changed by donations from people like you. send your love to the rescue. donate today. bill: getting the word out of moscow now, a court there in that city releasing one of the members after russian feminist punk rock group. the other two remain in prison. the women were given two year sentences back in august staging impromptu

performance in a main cathedral, with a performance skew skewering president putin. she was thrown out of the before the performance was actually started. martha: details. go to florida where there is sad news. a 12th death has been confirmed from the meningitis outbreak. jonathan serrie joins us live from atlanta. jonathan, is there any end to this in sight at this point? >> reporter: you know the numbers keep going up out of florida. this is a 70-year-old man that they identified as dying from this fungal meningitis outbreak. that is the first case associated with this outbreak in florida and bringing the national death toll to 12. even though this medication in question that was apparently tainted with apparently several forms of funkgy causing this disease, even though they were removed from the shelves on

september 26, patients received the injection since may 21 and the cdc estimates 13,000 people received doses of these steroids believed to have been contaminated. so right now they're trying to figure out exactly how many of these people are going to develop symptoms. listen. >> we don't know exactly, at this point what the so-called attack rate is. that is the percentage of patients who actually received an injection that will become ill. so far most of the patients we've contacted have not developed signs and symptoms of meningitis. >> reporter: fungal meningitis has a long incubation period which is why you're still seeing the numbers increase two weeks after the recall. people typically show symptoms one to four weeks after infection. but tennessee state health officials have observed incubation periods ranging from six to 42 days and some experts believe there could be rare cases where several months go by before people

show symptoms. public health officials are trying to identify these patients as quickly as possible and get them treated as quickly as possible because they believe anti-fungal treatments will be most effective if applied early. so, very important that if you've been treated with this potentially contaminated medication to look out for any symptoms which can range from flu-like symptoms such as fever or headache to neurological problems such as numbness and confusion. martha? martha: so important to get the word out to the people that may have been affected. jonathan, thank you very much. bill: there are new developments in the search for a 10-year-old girl vanished on her way to school. her parents are speaking publicly and police released a video that may help track her down. we'll talk about those clues. martha: my sit-down with a woman who knows governor romney better than anybody. ann romney, about her life on the campaign trail and how she handles attacks

against her husband. think about the charges that he lied? the other side said he lied his way through that whole debate. how did you feel about that? her answer to that, moments away. we'll be right back.

rtha: back with this fox news alert. stunning new revelations in the investigation into the terror attacks in benge r-frplt the statbenghazi. the state department is now saying there was never any protest outside of that facility putting them directly at odds with the reports from the white house. that's how we start a brand-new hour of "america's newsroom." good to have you with us. i'm martha maccallum. bill: i'm bill hemmer. we are learning about 230 security incidents reported in benghazi over the past 12 months. ambassador chris stevens, he was one of four americans killed in that attack. he was apparently scared for his life but requests for more security denied. all this surfacing the same day as a high profile congressional

hearing is about to get underway. martha: boy, this is a tangled web. joining us now chief intelligence correspondent catherine herridge live in washington. catherine, very important hearing this morning. what are we expecting to learn? >> thank you. we will hear from four witnesses who were the state department or military's point of contact for security at the constitute in benghazi. investigators obtaining these documents that showed 230 security related incidents in libya from june 11 until two months before the murder of four americans. they go well upon the attempted assassination of benghazi of the british ambassador in june, gun fights, the murder of four nationals, an ied attack on the u.s. consulate in june. the 230 incidents painted a clear picture that security was precarious. it says, not an environment where they should be directed to normalize operations and reduce security resources in accordance

with a timetable. the state department woman talked about whether security forces were pulled back. >> i'm not going to go into the timeline details as to what we had when and where. some of those things i'm guessing will be covered tomorrow in the open hearing. again, these are all pieces that we are pulling together now. i'm not going to get in the back and forth of all of that now. >> reporter: the bottom line is we'll get a lot of the specific details at the hearing just under two hours from now, martha. martha: we started to raoet so read some of what lieutenant colonel wood was saying. we may hear explosive remarks in there ka today. >> reporter: w today. the main thing was they say there was no demonstration in benghazi before the strike. on september 17th we were first

to report, six days after the attack that there was no demonstration and it came without warning, and this one piece of data with us a critical detail that severely undercut the administration tiff's narrative that this was a demonstration that spun out of control. the second element of that briefing that is important is you could not have listened to those details and reached any other conclusion that it was a terrorist attack that was premeditated and that it came in two way, first at the consulate and then at that an tph-rbgt annex used by the security office services. martha: it's amazing that they could be on such different traction. >> reporter: we could be gearing up for a major confrontation in the few weeks leading up to this election between the white house and the state department. martha: boy, catherine, thank you so much for keeping us up to date on all of these developments as she has

throughout. we thank her. all these developments new evidence that there was an effort to cover up or short of shaeupbg o change or affect the details about what was really happening on the ground there. we will ask the chairman of the oversight reform committee, darrell issa. that hams at 10:30 right here. bill: governor mitt romney bringing down the big guns in the battle state of ohio right now pairing up with new jersey governor chris christie. several campaign events there. there they are in summit county northeast of akron where christie slammed the democratic party telling the crowd what he thought of the national convention in charlotte. >> i tell you, a few weeks ago i watched the democratic national con srerpbgs i did it as a sacrifice and service to my country. i sat on my couch in my living room, i made my 12-year-old son patrick bring me a big bottle of

water, because let me tell you when i hear that much bs i get light headed. i had to stay hydrated, stay with it and listen. bill: ohio was critical of the romney campaign. no republican has ever won the house without winning the state of ohio. martha: is that true? bill: new word to motorists about counterfeit air bags. they will hold a news conference to alert thousands of drivers about air bags failing to inflate. a hundred different vehicles on that list. rick leventhal is on the story in new york. where do they come from. >> reporter: apparently from china bill. this is problem bleat last thing car owners would ever worry about. you assume if you get in a crash your air bags will inflate and protect you from injuries or death. thousands of people likely have counterfeit air bags that could fail to inflate or in at least one case shower a driver with

shards of metal shap knell. shrapnel. they released a list of cars that may have these bags. they apply to any car or truck on the road that has had an airbag replaced over the past three years, and that includes used vehicles as the the airbag may have been replaced before you bought it. they were sold to auto repair shops at well below market value. if you had your airbag replaced at a dealership you should be okay. bill: how do you know if your car is on the list. >> reporter: a press conference is expected to start any minute in washington revealing the details. the vehicles affected, there it is the press conference has started and the nhtsa is encouraging drivers to check a website, safer car.gov. we've got even and advanced copy.

we can't fit them all on the screen. over a hundred models. from abg ras accu abg acuras, hyundais, bmw's. if your car is on the list it's up to you to take your car to a dealership and get it checked. it could cost a hundred dollars for more and it's coming out of the drivers' pockets. bill: we'll get that on foxnews.com for folks who want to see the list. thank you. martha: ann romney is responding to claims that her husband lied at the debate. she says the obama campaign is acting like sore losers. >> it's sort of like someone, you know, in the sandbox that lost the game and they are going to kick sand in someone's face and say, you liar. they lost, now they just are going to say okay the game -- we didn't like the game, so to me it's poor sportsmanship.

martha: right after the break the rest of my interview with mrs. romney coming up. bill: a hazmat matter as a california fairground ends in a massive explosion. what in the world happened here? martha: wow. and what sparked this deadly post-wedding brawl? right after the break. >> people punching, cops coming in trying to restrain people. it was unbelievable. the only thing they could do is control it once it started. [ female announcer ] the best things in life are the real things.

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martha: she has been described as his rock on the campaign trail and there is no doubt that governor romney has gained momentum since the victory at the presidential debate last week, so i sat down with mrs. romney and asked her what she thought about her husband's performance that night, and also her reaction to the claims that he was dishonest during that debate. watch. i'm joined now by mrs. romney. there are poll numbers out there this morning that have got to

leave the campaign feeling very good. i want to start by taking a look at those. the first one is the head to hid which shows governor romney ahead at 49% over president obama at 45%. that is a five percentage point jump since that october 3rd debate. let's take a look at the women's number with likely women voters. you can see governor romney with a 38% to president obama's 56. that is an 8 percentage point jump. that puts them neck-and-neck. mrs. romney you talked a lot about the women and the vote out there and the democratic convention we heard about specific women's' issues. you've been saying for women it's about the economy. have you been proven right? >> i was thrilled with my husband, loved the debate, thought it was terrific. i've been waiting for a very, very longtime for people to see my house as i see him and i think people got a chance to do that at the debate. there have been as you know

close to a billion dollars spent on negative ads on him. he's been so mischaracterized, misrepresented, attacked and unfai unfairly treated by the media as well. for me it was for people to see him unfiltered, listen with their ears, see with their eyes and say, this is a good guy. in particular with women, i think. they got to see something that was evident at that debate, which was leadership, competency, someone who was energized, energetic ready to go and tackled the job. what mitt and and i have seen the last year and a half on the campaign trail is not numbers, we've seen people. and the numbers say the story of course, they say how widespread the story is. in particular women are falling into unemployment in a higher number than men. women are falling into poverty than a higher level than men. what we are seeing on the trail,

is women coming up to me. it happens so often i wish i could take people with me on the trail. women come up, they are so frightened, they are crying, they've lost their jobs, their husbands have lost their jobs. they've been trying to get a job. these are real people out there, they are not numbers to mitt and i if i more. i hope that came across, because why mitt is running is to make the economic opportunities for people out there who are really, really desperate. martha: there was a story over the weekend that said president obama who finished the debate felt like it had gone fairly well. so mucso many of us wondered when you walked up on the stage with your families, did you sense what had happened was different than threurs. >> all i kno theirs? >> i was focused on my husband. i was thrilled to death. martha: you knew. >> i knew right away after the first question. i turned to my son after 15

minutes and i gave him a nudge and i said, it's 100 to zero right now. the first 15 minutes. it never really changed. it was the energy, as i've had time to sit down now and for me to really think about it, obviously his answers were good and he was able to talk about his vision of the country and everything else and where he wants to take us, but for me it was the energy, the passion, the excitement. you could tell that this guy is ready, anxious, and prepared to take over. martha: you know, everybody says the president will not let this happen twice, that he knows he was off his game that night, that he's undoubtedly working to come back. there is talk that your husband will be portrayed as a flip-flopper, that the issue of bain will come back because they feel like portraying him as out of touch with the regular folks, with something that worked for hem early on. how do you prepare for those attacks that are likely to come in this town hall environment? and how is the town hall environment going to be different do you think?

>> every debate is different. you can never predict what will happen. you just have to be ready, i just have to know -- for me it all comes from conviction from within. you can't tell what questions are going to come, you can't tell what attacks going to come but people have to see from within your heart the conviction it is. and i believe with all of my heart that my husband will make a difference for the future of this country, that he will make a difference in the personal safety, security, and everything else for american people. and i think -- i think especially women are pretty smart, and they can listen with their hearts, and they can see. martha: now that the stakes are higher you look at this race and it is nec neck-and-neck and neck, what is your biggest concern as you look at next 20 days and you say, well, we are in good shape now but what if something trips up. >> there are always things out of your trofplt you can onl your control. you can only be the best that

you are. sometimes things are out of your control, there is nothing you can do right now. you just go forward with the conviction and knowledge that i really believe he's the right man, the right time, this country is going to be better if he's president of the united states. martha: what do you think about the charges that he lied. the other side said he lied his way through the whole debate. >> lied about what? this is something he's been saying all along. this is what he believes. this is his palsy, this is his statements. it's sort of like someone that, you know, in the sandbox that lost the game and they are going to kick sand in someone's face and say, you liar. they lost and now they are just going to say, okay, we didn't like the game. so -- to me it's poor sportsmanship. martha: if they come back with bain, with the 47% number. people say, why did he leave this on the table, why didn't he bring that up. how will your husband respond to that. martha that. >> east always has about clarity and firmness. the other thing is i know they tried to make light of the fact

that mitt has been successful, and, you know, that is what america is about is about people having the opportunity to do whatever they want to do, and we applaud and cheer success in this country, we don't degrade it, diminish it and say, you know, how bad you are for having been successful. mitt started his business. i mean we know what it's like to start from a beginning and to build something. martha: what do you say to paul ryan who has been feeling like well the boss did really well now the pressure is on me i have to go up against joe biden, what would you tell him, what is your advice in. >> i have no advice, plenty of people are giving him advice. i am going to call janna and give him a hug over the phone and saying we'll be watching and praying and concerned. again all the confidence in my husband, all the confidence in paul. i'm excited again for the american people to see him. they don't know him. he's such a great guy. he's so genuine, he's so

earnest, so well-spoken, so intelligent, he knows his facts. i mean it's going to be great for people to really a chance to get to know him. martha: if time you'll be able to yell at the tv screen while you're watching. you won't have to be quite as a church mouse in the front row. >> sitting on my hands. martha: thr-s romney than mrs. romney thank you for coming in. >> thank you. martha: they are clearly feeling good obviously about what happened. the thing she really felt the strongest about was her husband she felt got a chance to be seen the way that she sees him, that he was unfiltered that he had an opportunity. you could feel it when both of those men walked on the stage they had not been on stage together in that environment. they got to look each other in the eye and lay it out and present their best case. they want to be in the position they are in going into it but the pressure is clearly on. bill: that's the first time i heard her say that 50 minutes into the debate that i gave a little nudge to my son and said

it's 100-to nothing. that's when he gotten to healthcare and medicare. martha: the whole economy. bill: exactly right. terrific interview and very revealing about how she is just so on point with her own message too. martha: and she is, you know, she is who she is, and she is not a woman who has trouble with confidence or presenting herself. she absolutely is who she is and we'll see who it goes from here. bill: we will. so we are two hours away now from hearings on what happened in libya. stay tuned on this. we know who will be there today. but will lawmakers also hold secretary of state hillary clinton accountable? we are waiting on that. martha: and police have released a home video to try to help to track down this little girl who is missing. she is ten years old. and we are now hearing from her parents for the first time. >> i try to stay positive about it but, yeah, it's hard, extremely hard.

bill: so police now have released a home video of jessica ridge way as her parents speak publicly for the first time since she disappeared just about a week ago her mother and father denying they had anything to do with her disappearance. >> everybody that is here knows i didn't do anything, and nobody knows jeremy -- nobody in this room did anything to harm her or a little hair on her tiny little head. >> what to do, you know. i just want to find my daughter. i just want her back home. bill: now the parents are not together. the father lives in missouri several states away. and ron wheeler is a former d.c. homicide detective and a fox news contributor. good morning to you.

>> good morning, bill. bill: as a detective you have given us a list of questions that you need to answer first in order to move forward in the investigation. newspaper one is this. why jessica, why this ten-year-old girl? >> exactly, bill and that is the question that most investigators will ask themselves and have already asked themselves tph-s this particulain this particular case. let's look at facts real quick. jessica left for school at 7:45 a.m. last friday morning. very busy time, a lot of people going to work, other children going to school. there were no reports of a child screaming, according to the police, there was no reports of somebody struggling with somebody, so it's a little unusual, bill, that time of the morning for someone to be abducted, and a ten-year-old child, a ten-year-old girl can actually scream pretty loud. there are no reports whatsoever that any of these things had taken place. bill: her welcom welcome back pack was found six miles away. >> that's really peculiar. why six miles away. from an investigator's

standpoint if this little girl was abducted not far from her home why would this backpack be six miles away? she didn't walk no six miles, obviously someone had to take the backpack there. that's the part that the investigators are a little bit puzzled with right now. but i can tell you new information that just came out, they are scouring that entire area, bill, where the backpack was found looking for additional evidence, possible evidence. bill: here is a piece of evidence, the home video that went out. i guess this girl has a couple of distinct markers on her facem other kids. tell me have the video. >> the reason we in law enforcement release home video for a child like this is for a couple of reasons. we want the people to get a look at the child, look at scars, little things on her face and listen for her voice. that's why you can actually hear the audible sound of her. sometimes you can hear a child's voice who may be in the store, anything or anyone who even closely resembles this child obviously the police will like for people to call.

bill: she has a gap between her two front teeth and apparently a sore on her nose where her glasses sit and that apparently never goes away. the parents are speaking publicly. what do you make of that? >> it's always a good thing, bill, whenever the parents can speak publicly about their child. we like to look at the parents and hear what they have to say but i have to caution the vires, be carefuthe viewers, be careful about the body language, only a trained investigator can make a determination whether the person is being honest by the things that they are saying and the way they are saying it although we do listen very closely to these types of press conferences. we want to make sure whatever the parents are telling the media is the same thing that they told us during the police interview. bill: one more thing here. are the parents considered suspicious in anyway? are they on some sort of watch list? i only ask that because the father lives in missouri and the mother works an overnight shift and apparently the school was calling her at home, they say, and the phone was never picked up, but the mother works

overnight, apparently she sleeps during the day. what do you make of that? >> that is an excellent question. and every investigation, this is just the real deal, parents and family members are persons of interest until we solve the actual case. so it's not unusual for the parents and other members of the family to be looked at in a case like this. there are some peculiar events that have taken plac place in this case, bill. i would be cautious to not read too much into this. bill: thank you for your time. we will stay on it. martha: our lead story today is conflicting claims from the state department and white house about what really happened on the ground in benghazi on september 11th. >> i can just tell that you in realtime at the very highest levels of our government they knew this was a terrorist attack, as it was happening. martha: why did senior administration officials immediately hit the air wave saying that this was a spontaneous attack, a major

congressional hearing is about to get underway later today. darrell issa who will lead that hearing will join us shortly. bill: also, we will tell you about the boss who emailed his employees telling them he might have to start laying people off if president obama wins a second term. what are his reasons? >> i wanted my employees to be informed as to what the results could be of them voting for the wrong candidate. [ woman ] ring. ring. progresso. i just finished a bowl of your new light chicken pot pie soup and it's so rich and creamy... is it really 100 calories? let me put you on webcan... ...lean roasted chicken... and a creamy broth mmm i can still see you. [ male announcer ] progresso. you gotta taste this soup.

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call now. bill: just about 90 minutes away now from the first hearing getting underway on the hill on potential security lapses in libya leading up to the deadly consulate attack on september 11th. this coming now as new information is revealed about the situation on the ground. secretary of state hillary clinton has not been called to testify, but she has pledged full cooperation in the investigation. last hour senator bob corker, republican out of tennessee just returning late last night from a trip of his own to libya, told us that he believes this story is about politics. >> the fact is that this was a terrorist act. i think most of us knew and thought it was a terrorist act from the very beginning. now there are details that are coming out from the state department that are saying that, and, again, to me this is all about a presidential election. bill: he went onto say it's all about the white house. the man leading today's

proceedings, chairman of the house oversight committee darrell issa. good morning to you, thank you for coming back on our program here. >> good morning, bill. bill: do you agree with senator corker's conclusion that this is about an election? >> what we know is that our americans serving abroad are in danger, and there was an incredible lap lapse in keeping them safe. it's not just for the ambassador and others and the seals it's for all the people serving over there. if that's correct it's own a rust anonerous and we'll get to the bottom of it. bill: it appears from the statements that the state department is cooperating. is that true? >> bill, i have had good cooperation from the state department. i talked to secretary clinton personally, she pledged cooperation and she said her

people would do so. there have been significant changes in the level of security of our men and women serving in all these countries, including all of the arab countries needs to be increased or reviewed to find out if they have the same level of shortcomings that led to the death of ambassador stevens. bill: would you call secretary clinton to testify? >> we are going through a transcribing process of full her subordinates. if it leads to areas in which she is a fact witness of course she will. in general we start as we did here with the whistle-blower and then we work up, down and sideways to get to the truth, and that's what my committee is charged to do by the speaker. bill: based upon that answer you do not take that possibility off the table, right? we are clear on that? >> exactly. you never take it off the table. it could go sideways, it could go to the white house, the fbi. there are a lot of people and place thaes had to fai places that had to fail for this

tragedy to occur. bill: do you think they misled you and the american people? >> absolutely. there is no question as senator corker said, at least by the time that ambassador rice made her outlandish statements at our most important ambassador, ambassador to the u.n. everyone knew it wasn't true. that becomes the real question of why in the world would an ambassador make a statement that was not supported even a few hours after the attack, and certainly wasn't supported a day, two days or in this case five days after the attack. bill: you have three principle players here, you have susan rice, hillary clinton and the president, right? are you suggesting that any of these individuals, or all of them, lied about this? >> well, certainly we are going to get to the bottom of ambassador rice rice' false statement. you have to understand something. the reason i called my committee back during the time when most members are home campaigning is because i thought it was so important that we get to the

truth about the failure of security, because we have hundreds of missions, embassies and consulates around the world and if this has been repeated even once, and i don't act quickly, then i failed to meet my obligation. if they need more resources, i need to make sure they ask for them and get them. and in this case what we saw was a pattern of basically being told, effectively, don't even ask for more resources because we won't support that. you'll see that today in the hearingment. bill: if you believe you were misled and there was some sort of discorrection that was put out there publicly the question is why? how do you answer that? >> well the why is and important question and i think we'll get to the bottom of who thought it was in either political or career best interest to mislead the public, the world and yes, congress. but, again, today's hearing has to be about the men and women in harm's way. the american people need to know as soon as possible that things are not as safe as they are being led to believe they are, and if we are going to have our

men and women risk their lives they have to do it with the kind of security that historically has been provided to our diplomats. bill: darrell issa i appreciate your time. i know the hearing will keep you busy throughout the day. we will be watching from here and see how much you uncovered today based on security in libya and other posts throughout the world. darrell issa thank you. >> you're most welcome. martha: the boss' letter that he wrote to his employees warns that four more years of president obama could mean that they could lose their jobs. so are business owners around this country feeling that way? we are going to talk to two financial analysts who join us next. bill: also, so long to a piece of americana, the ironic glass coca-cola bottle. martha: say it isn't so? bill: where are you going? ♪ if i could buy the world a coke and keep it company. that's the real thing. ♪ i'd like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmon see.

harmony. ♪ i'm eating what i kn is better nutrition. mmmm. great grains. search great grains and see for yourself.

oh, hey alex. just picking up some, brochures, posters copies of my acceptance speech. great! it's always good to have a backup plan, in case i get hit by a meteor. wow, your hair looks great. didn't realize they did photoshop here. hey, good call on those mugs. can't let 'em see what you're drinking. you know, i'm glad we're both running a nice, clean race. no need to get nasty. here's your "honk if you had an affair with taylor" yard sign. looks good. [ male announcer ] fedex office. now save 50% on banners.

bill: how about this for the end of an era for coca-cola. no longer selling soda in a glass bottle. the last 6 1/2-ounce bottle came off the assembly line end -l ending a tradition that started 80 years ago. 1960 along came the aluminum can. the glass bottle was sold for about $2,000. that is a keepsake for sure. martha: there is nothing like a nice cold coke in a bottle that you have to use a bottle opener. there is a place by my house that has them in an old vintage container cooled from the bottom. as you can tell i like coke. all right. here comes this for you a florida real estate mogul is warning of layoffs if the president is reelected. here is an email that is similar to one that has also circulated on the internet that the billionaire sent to his employees. if any few taxes are levied on

me or my company as our current president plans he says i will have no choice but to reduce the size of this company. that means fewer jobs, less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone he says. i should point out that david siegel and his wife are the subjects of a documentary about the building of their own personal copy of versailles that they were trying to build in florida, ran out of money to finish the whole thing, now it's for sale. he claims he wants to make sure that his employees understand the ramifications. listen. >> we are not going to fire anybody, or layoff anybody as a result of who they vote for, or who they lean towards, it's just i want them to know that what the future holds for them and their families. martha: so that's addressing another question raised by what he's saying in this email. joined now by matt mccall president of the penn financial group l. l. c. and steve moore senior economic writer for the

"wall street journal" and author of the new book "who is the fairist of them all." i don't know if you can question the business practices of somebody who builds a 35 or $45 million house that is supposed to be a copy of versailles. the reason we brought this up is because it raises the question about what business leaders and people who own companies are thinking buy across to country as they head towards the election. >> i don't think it's appropriate for employers to bully their employees in terms of what they vote for and i don't think that's what was happening here. i think it's quite appropriate for employers to educate their workers about the implication of more regulations, higher taxes. we talked a lot on this show about when you talk about taxing the top 1, or 2 3% that those tend to be the employers in the country. i'll tell you this also, martha i talk to a lot of employers around the country. this is not isolated. i talked to a guy who owns 50

fast-food restaurants. he says the obama healthcare is going to cost him $11,000 more a year per employee. it's going to take a million dollars out of the business. that's the type of impact the regulations and taxes have and i do think they reduce employment. >> matt, david siegel says this. he says we pay state taxes, federal sacksess, property taxes, sale and use taxes. workers compensation taxes and unemployment taxes i have to hire an entire department to manage all the taxes. i guess even the people who help manage the taxes will probably still have their jobs either way. what do you think about that matt? >> if you take care of taxes and regulations your jobs will probably be booming in the next couple of years in obama is reelected. siegel makes a good point. what he points out is the fact that we are are paying so much in taxes there is a lot of uncertainty going forward that we may be paying more. the united states has the highest corporate rate in the world. if we're going to be taxes them through obama care, another

route or higher regulations what is an owner supposed to to do? if that ownre of a company whether it be a billion dollar company or a company with one hundred employees, if you're making less money you're going to have less employees. if you have less employees that means that is one more person out of work. every person that is out of work, less demands or goods and services here in the united states, that ripple effect moves down to the fact that you have to maybe layoff more people. it could be devastating going forward with tax and regulation going forward. martha: president obama said in the debate in terms of taxing millionaires he doesn't think that is should that should be onerous to them even though many of them are owners of the size business we're talking about that do employ a lot of people. it is a sentiment. i talk to business owners as well who say, they are losing heart and interest, some of them in running companies, because they just feel like it's just too hard and too onerous. >> it's a pervasive attitude, and taking the example that i

just mentioned about the million dollars that these higher obamacare taxes will impose, i mean that is what, 50 or 100 employees that this manager and ceo can't hire. let me just make one other point. it's not just taxes, martha, there is an attitude among a lot of businessmen and women around the country, especially small businessmen and women that they feel like washington treats them almost like even in a me combatants right now and they see that not skus throug just througthrough taxes or the healthcare law, it's osha, the department of labor invading their facility and acting that they are guilty until proven innocent. that makes it hard to expand your business in that kind of environment. martha: steve thank you very much for being with us. matt thank you very much. see you guys soon. bill: we will see jon scott in a matter of moments. jon scott is coming up live in "happening now." jon: 13 minutes if you're

counting bill. it's battleground ohio, bill's home state. mitt romney holding a town hall in that critical state with new jersey governor chris christie. we'll take you there live as polls in ohio seem to turn in mr. romney's favor. the drip, drip of near daily revelations about the murders of four americans in benghazi continues. during the noon hour eastern time a gop-led committee on capitol hill will grill government officials on diplomatic security in libya. what did we know? we'll have it for you live. white house press secretary jay carney, what is he up to today? he's holding his first press conference in two weeks. will he make news? we'll have it for you. bill: you have a busy day. jon: yes we do. bill: paying for a good idea. there is a state dishing out money to employees who have ideas to save taxpayers some cash jo a big explosion forcing hazmat teams to the scene. look at that. where all that went down, as bill and i come right back. [ male announcer ] when these come together,

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martha: california police found a crate of hazardous material at a nap a county fairground. look what they did. there was only one thing they could do with it. the sheriff's department rigged the crate to explode. it blue away sandbags. there was one hundred canisters of ether. it was used during medical procedures but not used any more. they believe it was stashed at the fai fairground for decades. i think there is a story there. bill: arizona's governor signing a bill into that you that will fix budget problems. an employee suggestion program who award state employees who propose the best budget saving ideas. anita vogel is on this idea.

an incentive for folks to show up to work there, right? >> reporter: that's right, bill if you work in arizona you could get a bonus in your paycheck for coming up with a good idea or two. the state of arizona did try this before, it didn't work too well. recently the governor signed a new bill giving it another chance. now nearly 40,000 state employees will get 10% of any savings that come from their ideas that end up saving the state money. >> i think it's a win-win. it benefits the state, it benefits the employees. it helps to develop the mindset of how can we make things better. >> reporter: now other states like new york, texas and california have tried similar programs, some successful, some not so successful stphaot city osuccess successful. bill: the city of phoenix had a lot of success with this program. >> reporter: yes they have. take a lock at these folks, let's take a look at janis

jacobo. she came up with the suggestion to paint all transportation vehicles and light rail cars one collar. that ended up saving more than $2 million. and she ended up with an extra $3,500 in her pocket. and take a look at this group of water service workers, this is amazing. they found a way to avoid spending more than $3 million on a complicated water project, and instead they spent a mere $15,000 by creating their own product. they were awarded $2,300 each. >> they come up with some really excellent suggestions, and have saved the city many millions of dollars. we've had a lot of emphasis on the program, especially over the past few years when we've tried to address the economic situation. >> reporter: phoenix alone has saved nearly $15 million over the last nine years, the cut for employees there, $163,000.

so there is some extra incentive to show up to work. bill: i would say. onward. thanks. live in l.a. there. martha: we are an hour away now from these hearings that are going to happen on what really happened on the ground in benghazi, libya on that night. what will we learn about the deadly terror attack and the white house evolving account of the events that led up to that day and what happened right afterwards. we will go there live when the hearing gets underway. ♪ ♪ ♪

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